As I am often inclined to
do to achieve an objective assessment of an album, when I first
listened to Mega Shred
by Tribus, I ignored the liner notes and just put the CD in and
listened to it. About a minute later, I was scrambling to find
the liner notes, as I suspect you would be too if you were not
familiar with Tribus. This is because Tribus has a very unusual
composition of instrumental constituents. Let's see now, there is
the bass guitar, the lead distortion bass guitar, the fretless
bass, the bass effects, and did I already mention the bass
guitar?

Though I was a little put
out at first for the conspicuous absence of guitar and keyboards
and other instrumentation, this being my personal inclination, I
put aside my prejudices and gave due consideration to the
bass-exclusive effort. The first thing that I noticed was that it
is admirable that the group was able to achieve such a
widely-textured integrated sound using only different types of
bass guitars. The absence of other instruments is not as
noticeable as one might expect. The second thing that I noticed
was that there is some very impressive bass work that
demonstrates brow-raising technical proficiency, but that at the
same time strives to present coherent, accessible music. The bass
fret work is highlighted by some speedy playing including some
difficult chordal arpeggiation from Bach's Toccata & Fugue in
D Minor that is played faster on the bass than is believable,
though I must admit that it does sound like keyboards rather than
a bass with effects so I am really not sure this part is played
on bass... which makes it all the more impressive if it is played
on bass!

The tonality and rhythms
for the bass work seems to embrace a Bachian classical style and
feel, rather than that of the fusion variety. The sound is
reminiscent of neoclassical with its classical-like patterns and
composition that are reinforced by the voicings selected. And,
though the bass is used typically in at least one of the lines to
set the rhythm and progression, the other bass work applies the
bass as a solo instrument in a fashion similar to Yo-Yo Ma.

I suspect that this album
is going to be popular among bass players that have a preference
for a neoclassical flavoring, though I wouldn't limit the
listening audience to this group. The noteworthy achievement of
this effort is that though the instrumentation is limited
strictly to bass guitar, the end result of the music has an
accessibility and appeal that lends itself beyond an audience of
bassists. It is an interesting album, though I'm still not sure
what to make of it. Try to find a review of this album written by
a bass guitarist who I am sure will have a better frame of
reference to put it in!